


On the Aftermath

by Keibey



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 02:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11117856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keibey/pseuds/Keibey
Summary: The Plegian sun was harsh, but not as harsh as the reality before Chrom’s eyes.





	On the Aftermath

Chrom had barely felt the impact on his knees when horror and shock made him crumple to the ground. Not even the familiar touch of Robin’s hand on his arm could reach him, couldn’t ground him as he lifted his head to snarl, “Gangrel, you die today!” 

Basilio’s hulking figure cut in front of him, Flavia right beside him. “No, boy! I secured an escape route; we have to flee!” 

“But,” Chrom’s voice broke on the one word, “her body, I have to-” 

“You have to _run_! Now do it!” Basilio was right, Chrom _knew_ that, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t tear his eyes away from Emm. “Robin! Don’t let him do anything stupid!”  

The hand on his arm squeezed once, and he finally turned away to brown eyes. He could see the pain in them, the worry, and the world came into focus again. Behind his tactician, the Risen were advancing on them from all sides. 

“Hurry!” Basilio bellowed, “There should be carriages waiting just through the ravine!” 

He grit his teeth, his eyes finding Emm’s body again. It wasn’t right, to leave her like this, to let- 

“Chrom,” Robin said, and he had never heard that helpless tone from the man before, “please!” 

It was a raw, frustrated noise that tore itself from his throat as he forced himself to look away again. He started, haltingly, “I’m- I’m coming.” 

Robin nodded once in encouragement and then pulled with surprising strength, and Chrom staggered to his feet, dragging the Falchon along the ground for a few seconds before he could find the strength to lift it. His tactician didn’t withdraw his hand even as they ran, and Chrom was grateful. 

“Quickly! We’re almost- Damn!” 

The West Khan had stopped, pulling his axe up in a battle stance. Chrom could see soldiers beyond, down the fork of the ravine that twisted sharply to the right. It was inevitable that they would have to engage, no matter which way they went. He turned to Robin, and recognized the sharp look in the brown eyes. 

Before he could speak, Robin had easily caught Gaius’ attention. “I leave Chrom to you.” Then the hand on his arm was gone, the words scarcely out before his tactician was running forward, calling, “Sumia!” The pegasus swooped down, banking sharply.   

“Robin, what are you doing!?” He watched, dumbfounded, as Robin swung up easily in the flash of feathers and wings. Sumia’s gaze flitted between them both, her mount hovering with an impatient snort. 

“Keep moving,” his tactician said instead of an answer, brown eyes soft, but when they fixed to something in the distance it was with steely resolve, “Sumia, over the cliffs!” She nodded, looking at Chrom once with an expression of pain and sympathy that he didn’t understand, before urging the pegasus into a steep ascent. 

“Robin!” Chrom started forward, body moving with a feeling of dread and _not again_ , hand reaching out- 

“Hold on there, Blue.” A hand caught his shoulder and pulled him back, and he saw the same sympathy etched in Gaius’ uncharacteristically serious expression. “Bubbles’ll be fine.” 

Chrom looked back to the cliff, but the pegasus had long disappeared. He let his hand fall back to his side, let it curled into a fist once before he squared his shoulders. “Right.” Chrom gave the thief a nod, and Gaius released him. He ran after Basilio’s booming voice amidst the thundering rain and clanking armour, breaking through the haphazard lines of Plegian soldiers without slowing. There was little fight in them, and the worry and grief was dampening his own anger. 

They burst out the mouth of the ravine to Basilio’s impatient urging, and Chrom only caught the briefest glimpse of the woman who had been waiting for them before he was turning around to scan the area for a familiar shock of white hair.   

“Come on, Blue,” Gaius cut into his thoughts, the thief motioning to one of the carriages with a jerk of the head. “Can’t leave you behind; Bubbles won’t be bubbly anymore.” 

He shook his head, any number of responses flitting through his mind, but his eyes fell on Lissa and froze. Tear tracks ran down her cheeks, red rimming her eyes, and the next thought hit him with the weight of the whole Halidom. 

Chrom was a prince; he never could have the luxury of placing one person over the rest. 

Each step towards her clenched his chest, and if he was a better brother, it wouldn’t have made his heart heavier. He reached out and gently took her hand, helping her into the carriage. 

Lissa looked up at him through her tears as he sat down opposite of her, but when her fingers squeezed his, they were firm with a comforting warmth. “He’ll be alright.” 

It made him wonder what kind of expression he had on his face that Lissa felt she had to comfort him, but glancing to Maribelle beside her gave him no answers. He only saw the same sympathetic look in her eyes. 

The carriage jerked into movement, its wheel catching on a rock almost immediately and sending it airborne. The wood creaked with every bump, jolted loose with years of service, but it moved fast, the outside nothing but a blur of grey. Between the rain and the rattling, it was impossible to even think, much less make conversation. 

If he was a better person, he wouldn’t be relieved. 

Time seemed to stretch when the carriage skidded to a stop. Chrom watched as Gaius cracked open the door to check the area through the gap with a careful eye, and then as the thief disappeared into the forest. He got out in a slower fashion, turning to help Lissa and Maribelle. 

“Milord,” Frederick greeted as the knight rode close, and the familiarity eased a bit of the tightness in his chest, “If I may, I will organize some patrols to secure the surrounding area.” Chrom nodded, and Frederick left with a quick turn of his horse. 

“I’m going to help the injured.” Lissa’s hand on his arm almost startled him. Her grey eyes searched his face, and the concern didn’t clear even when he gave her a smile. 

“Be careful.” For a moment, it looked like there was something else she wanted to say, but she left without adding anything else. 

All around him, the soldiers were falling into their usual routines without even needing to be told, but a heavy silence blanketed them all. They all looked like they were going through the motions, and Chrom couldn’t help but feel the same. Seeing the soldiers only reminded him sharply of the tactician missing from their midst, and closing his eyes brought back the moment Emm was falling, too fast- 

“You’re looking like a lost kid in the market.” Sully stopped beside him, a bundle of tents under one arm and more strapped onto her mount. 

“I certainly feel like one,” he admitted, and her scowl deepened. 

“Well stop that,” she said, pushing the armful she had been carrying into his hands, “You’ve got tents to pitch, or you and that crazy tactician aren’t sleeping tonight.” 

Chrom felt his lips quirk up wryly, despite everything. “I think he prefers ‘reckless’.” 

“Damn right he is, running off like that.” Sully studied him for a moment before clapping him heavily on the shoulder. “Bloody rain isn’t going to stop; get your arse into gear! He’s going to want somewhere dry when he shows up.” With that, the knight turned like she expected him to follow, her mount balefully eyeing him before trailing after its master. There was something comforting in Sully’s easy trust in Robin, and her support was infinitely better than the empty words of condolences he knew he would face the moment they settled. Emm was- 

He took a deep breath and followed Sully. There were others setting up as well, bowed down against the rain, and Stahl waved him over with a sympathetic smile. The chore was easy and routine, and he let himself get lost in the familiar motions. 

It was cheering that pulled Chrom from his mindless task, and looked up to find the source of the only life the camp had shown. Sumia was spiraling down on her pegasus, Robin seated behind her. A crowd surrounded them the moment they landed, and even from this distance Chrom could see the tired smile on Robin’s face. It didn’t waver even as the man dismounted to various friendly thumps on the back, Vaike’s loud congratulations reaching his ears through the rain. Something in his chest loosened. 

Stahl voice carried from behind his half completed tent. “Are you not going to talk to him, milord?” 

“Later,” he answered, but his eyes wouldn’t leave his tactician. Robin’s head turned in his direction, and their eyes locked. Something in the man’s expression brightened, and Chrom couldn’t help but smile in response. He noticed Lissa elbowing her way into the crowd, latching onto Robin’s arm and insistently dragging the man towards the medical tent. It was good to see her so lively again. “Later,” he repeated, half to himself. 

It was impossible to focus despite what he said, and Stahl came over after Chrom fumbled the knot for the fourth time. The knight didn’t do anything but smile sympathetically. “Maybe you should go see him.” 

“It’s that obvious?” Chrom asked with a sigh, but he stood. “Thanks, Stahl.” 

Restlessness made his strides hurried as he started for the medical tent. The pungent smell of medicinal herbs washed over him the moment he ducked in, letting the tent flap fall behind him. It was empty apart from Robin, and the moment the brown eyes landed on him, the man stood and came to a stop in front of him, sharp gaze searching his face. “Chrom, are you alright?” 

Chrom blinked before shaking his head. He reached out to smooth the back of his fingers lightly over the bandage on his tactician’s face, and then he looked down to blood splattered onto the cloak, the rest of his disheveled appearance. The tightness was back in his chest, and suddenly just seeing Robin wasn’t enough. His hand closed around Robin’s arm, and he caught a glimpse of wide eyes a second before he pulled the man into a tight embrace. 

Robin’s surprise was palpable, but Chrom felt the steadying weight of his tactician’s hands on his back only a second later. He inhaled sharply, and a familiar scent filled his nose; parchment and ink, and the sharp tang in the air before lightning strikes. “Gods, Robin.” It came out as a whisper, muffled by the thick material of the cloak. “Don’t ever do that again.” 

“I’m sorry,” Robin said softly. “Their commander was their pillar. I had to.” 

It was the response he had been expecting; Chrom pulled his tactician closer to his chest, enough to feel the heartbeat against him. “We would have found another way.” He shook his head, couldn’t stop himself from clutching the man closer. “By Naga, we would have.” 

“Of course,” Robin answered, soft and soothing. “I’m sorry.” Fingers weaved gently into his hair, light enough to be a caress. Chrom closed his eyes, and he was back there, looking at his sister’s broken body again. The back of his throat was beginning to burn, heat building behind his eyes. 

“Emm-” Her name barely made it past the lump forming in his throat, and he couldn’t continue. Robin’s fingers stilled in his hair. 

“I shouldn’t have stopped you.” 

Chrom was shaking his head even before the man had finished. “She jumped so I didn’t have to make the choice. If only I-” Had been fast enough to get to her? Had been strong enough to push through the courtyard earlier? 

Did it matter what he said now, when Emm was dead? 

Robin’s arms tightened around him, the soft press of a cheek resting against his head. Chrom could feel the warmth from his tears as they began to fall, and more welled up no matter how tightly he squeezed his eyes shut. Robin began carding fingers through his hair again, whispering sweet reassurances into his ear. 

“I couldn’t do anything.” Chrom felt strangled by his own words, throat tight and burning. “I-” He buried his face against Robin’s neck, sobs smothered before they could be heard. His hands fisted into the cloak, bunching it uselessly in his fingers. 

“We’ll end this war,” Robin said, and for all the softness in the voice, he could hear the steel of a promise in it, “and we’ll build the peace she wanted.” 

Chrom took a wet inhale. “Robin,” he said, and the man hummed in response, “stay with me.” 

“I’ll always be with you.” 

The words settled in his chest, smoothing the jagged edges inside, even if it couldn’t quite close the wounds. Chrom pressed his thanks onto soft skin, and Robin hummed again in wordless acknowledgement. He would find the strength to carry on, but for now, for just another moment longer, he will let himself lean on Robin. 


End file.
